Halo's Cauldron
Brewing stories between the seen and unseen
It Started Somewhere ✨
I am Hanna Louise, also known as Halo, a graphic illustrator based in Groningen, the Netherlands. The name Halo, drawn from my initials and first suggested by my mother, became a natural extension of my identity and work. My work draws from history and the cultures that shape our world. From an early age, I felt at home in imagination—creating before I could speak, filling sheet after sheet with marks, and later discovering writing as another way to express my inner world. For years, I felt as if I were waiting for a magical calling, only to realise the magic was always within me, quietly guiding every step.
What Keeps Pulling 🔮
Nature, mythic storytelling, and imagined worlds shape what I create. Rooted in my journey into womanhood, the divine feminine is an important influence in both my life and my art, feeling less like a choice and more like a natural reflection of my work. While I’m inspired by a wide range of mythic figures and imagined worlds, I often return to feminine forces—both in symbolism and form, where softness, roundness, and fluidity express a strength that is quiet, yet no less powerful. This reflects my interest in how femininity is represented today, where there is growing space for nuance and strength, with more still to be discovered. My spiritual background informs both my daily life and my work—practices like intuition, symbolism, and divination shape how I see and create. For me, making art is a form of focused, almost meditative work.
How It Comes Together ◌
I experiment with form, silhouette, negative space, texture, and color through a collage-like, mixed-media process. While much of my work is rooted in mythic and symbolic themes, I also enjoy applying this visual language to a wide range of subjects and contexts. I explore contrasts and dualities, balancing tension and harmony, weaving ancient symbolism into contemporary expression, where lightness holds deeper meaning. At its core is connection—the invisible threads linking people, ideas, and worlds, reflecting shared human experience. My studio sits between the seen and unseen, where mythic storytelling and imagined worlds intersect with everyday life—never separate from us.
Where It All Brews ☽
Halo’s Cauldron is my process—where I collect, transform, and share. This calling whispered to me, and I chose to listen—completing my earlier Art & Design studies before continuing into illustration and graphic design at Minerva Art Academy, where I’m now developing my graduation project. From my studio apartment overlooking the city, I shape and refine the work that will mark the end of my studies.
Everything In Between ✦
Outside the studio, I recharge in cafés and bars, music, festivals, and community—drawn to the energy of movement and music, from dancing to mosh pits—as well as in quieter moments, outdoors or at home with films, comfort food, and time spent creating. I hope to share these quieter moments with a cat by my side. Between these rhythms, I gather moments that carry back into my work.
What’s Taking Shape ✧
Looking ahead, I aim to combine commissioned work with my own projects—ranging from editorial and design work to prints, publications, and storytelling-driven pieces. I also aspire to create my own fiction and oracle card deck.
Hopefully, something brewed here sparks and lingers.
Enjoy your stay
— Halo